Jazz move Jae Crowder into starting lineup for Game 3 vs....

1of83PHOTOS: Rockets game-by-game
Houston Rockets forward PJ Tucker (17) and Utah Jazz forward Jae Crowder (99) take a look at each other as they line up for a free throw during Game 2 of the NBA game series on Wednesday, April 17, 2019 in Houston. Rockets won the game 118-98 and lead the series 2-0.
Browse through the photos to see how the Rockets fared in each game this season.Photo: Elizabeth Conley/Staff photographer

SALT LAKE CITY - Facing an 0-2 deficit in the series, the Jazz changed their starting lineup on Saturday to return to the group they had used in three of the four regular-season meetings with the Rockets.

The Jazz moved Jae Crowder into the starting lineup, replacing Derrick Favors who had started the first two games of the series.

Rockets forward P.J. Tucker had made 50 percent of his 3s in the first two games with Favors better suited for defending the paint than the 3-point line. Neither grouping had much success in the first two games. The lineup with Favors and the other four starters had been outscored by 13.6 points per 100 possessions in an average of 10.2 minutes per game. The four starters with Crowder had been outscored by 40.5 points per 100 possessions, playing together for just 5.3 minutes per game in the first two games of the series.

"There's a continuity component that you play a certain way over the course of the season," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said of the considerations he weighs when choosing a starting lineup in the series. "You're opponent sometimes dictates matchup situations that require adjustments whether it be offensive rebounding, spacing, defensive matchups. Some of the way we substitute gets dictated by that.

"I think the series kind of shows you a way. There's oftentimes ... no way of knowing the alternative, other than the previous game (between the teams). Are we doing things we just need to do better? Are those opportunities things we like or are we trying to create different situations? Those adjustments are all part of the series. They're reflected in playing time. They're reflected in starting lineups. They're part of the playoffs."

Favors started 70 of the 76 games he played in the regular season, Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said he does try to anticipate adjustments, including lineup changes, but does not spend practice time working based on guesswork.

"Whatever they do, we'll adjust during the game," D'Antoni said. "But it's not like you practice based on something they haven't done yet."

Jonathan Feigen has been the Rockets beat writer since 1998 and a basketball nut since before Willis Reed limped out for Game 7. He became a sports writer because the reporter that was supposed to cover the University of Delaware basketball team decided to instead play one more season of college lacrosse and has never looked back.

Feigen, who has won APSE, APME and United States Basketball Writers Association awards from El Campo to Houston, came to Texas in 1981 to cover the Rice Birds, was Sports Editor in Garland before moving to Dallas to cover everything from the final hurrah of the Southwest Conference to SMU after the death penalty.

After joining the Houston Chronicle in 1990, Feigen has covered the demise of the SWC, the rise of the Big 12 and the Rockets at their championship best.